Polygamy, abuse alleged to be hallmarks of cult

Grey County OPP is investigating allegations of polygamy and abuse in a remote “cult-like” church in Chatsworth Township after a woman who spent nearly 40 years in the church left it four years ago and recently went public with her story.
“We are investigating,” Const. Alina Grelik confirmed in an interview. Police are looking into claims made by Carol Christie, 59, who told her story on a recent television broadcast and in local interviews.
Christie alleges she suffered sexual, physical and psychological abuse while a member of the church for close to four decades.
Stanley King started the Church of Jesus Christ Restored in the 1960s, after preaching in Owen Sound at the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a Mormon church. Polygamy isn’t part of mainstream Mormonism anymore but it’s still part of Mormon doctrine, which King drew on to fashion his own more fundamentalist church, Christie said in a recent interview.
Polygamy — being married to more than one person at the same time — has been illegal in Canada since 1890 and is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Christie said Stan King’s church members called him “The Prophet” and he had a harem of wives, including herself.
Since W5, the CTV investigative public affairs show, televised her story, police have interviewed her and others.
“It was just filled with bizarre, insane everything. It was a living hell,” Christie said, calling the church “cult-like.”
“Your faith is based on fear because you’re terrorized psychologically. Everything you think, do and say is done out of fear.”
Stan King’s church was based at his farmhouse near Sauble Beach, where Christie lived with him, then it moved to a bankrupt ski resort he purchased in 1982 on Concession 2 of the former Holland Township, east of the village of Chatsworth and north of Grey County Rd. 40.
Christie said she remained in the church from the late 1960s until 2008. When Stan King died in 1986 after suffering two aneurisms, everything went to his youngest son, Fred, including his father’s wives, Christie has alleged.
Church members were led to believe the outside world is a hostile place, where they’d never survive, Christie said. They were also led to believe they’d face eternal damnation if they left. But Christie and five others did leave.
James King, the eldest son of her and Stan, left the year before Christie’s departure. James lives in Sauble Beach now. However, her son Marcus remains in the church, Christie said, recalling his words: “I love you mom, I want to come, but I can’t. I will spend eternity in hell.”
All six who sued settled lawsuits against church principals out of court. Christie’s settlements of December 2010 included a confidentiality agreement concerning the amount she received, Christie said.
The statements of claim and defence, which weren’t tested by the courts, are part of the public record. The defendants’ statement denied the allegations.
The defendants’ lawyer, William Fader, agreed to check if Fred King would grant an interview, but later said he’d had no luck contacting King. An e-mail to Fred King’s attention at his printing plant went unanswered, as did a phone message left for his brother, Joseph King.
Christie’s multi-million-dollar claim named Fred King, Joseph King, 388786 Ontario Limited carrying on business as Resto Graphics, which was a small custom-printing business in Mississauga, and Church of Jesus Christ Restored. The business and church belonged to Stan and his sons Joe and Fred, the claim said. TriPrint Media now operates at the same address, where Christie’s son Marcus still works.
The claim alleged Fred King “assumed his role as supreme prophet” and all of his father’s property, including “Stanley’s plural wives.” Fred King “coerced” Christie into marrying him, engaged in “coercive and abusive sexual relations” early in the marriage, and had seven wives including his legal wife.
The claim said Fred King around Sept. 11, 2001 and for some eight years, held Christie essentially under house arrest, amounting to “forcible confinement.” In 2002 he “beat her horribly,” and “beatings continued over the years,” frequently in front of church members. He beat her two sons in front of her, said the claim.
The claim said Christie left the church two days after Fred King beat her in church on Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008. The claim said Fred King’s “abuse and negligence” left her struggling with chronic pain, depression and anger, post-traumatic stress disorder, a lack of ambition, trust and difficulty developing and maintaining healthy relationships.
Owen Sound lawyer John Tamming handled the two lawsuits, one on behalf of Christie and the other for five other former church members.
“My concerns are more about the abuse inflicted upon members of the church, particularly during church services. And I think that more than deserves a comprehensive police investigation,” Tamming said.
“And I’ve also made efforts, strenuous efforts, to involve the Children’s Aid Society. Those are the things that I’m most concerned with right now, is ongoing, the possibility of ongoing abuse within a few miles of Owen Sound,” he said.
The CAS is now called Bruce-Grey Child and Family Services. Executive director Phyllis Lovell said the newspaper’s inquiry prompted her to review the file. “I also want to assure you that this organization takes child safety very, very seriously and that we will do our best to determine that there aren’t children who are unsafe in this point in time in this case.”
Carol Christie was introduced to the church through her mother, Betty Dennis, a controlling woman who was very involved with the church, Christie said. By age 15, Christie started attending church services and at 18, her mother and others in the church told Christie her “calling” was to be Stan King’s wife.
“I rejected it. I didn’t want any part of it. I was basically pursued over it all,” Christie said.
The prophet made “advances” which frightened her and so she ran away. But she was taken to a church member’s home and “I was beaten and told this is no way you treat a prophet,” she said.
Christie was still a student at West Hill Secondary School and couldn’t stay awake in class. Her mother tried to “exorcise” her demons by pouncing on her while she slept at night and shaking her. “I hate talking about this,” Christie said.
She was “terrified” and her mother, who died last August, fed her sedatives. But eventually Christie entered Stan King’s bed.
“I don’t know if my spirit was broke or what but that was it. There just seemed to be no way out.” They “married” about 1971, when he was some 24 years her senior. Her job was to please him.
Stan King was a controlling man but not physically violent with her, Christie said. She feared him but also respected his passion for helping others during missions to an orphanage in India, for example.
“One thing I can say about Stan, he loved his kids and his children knew it” and loved him back, she added. But by Christie’s account, Stan King was also a sexual predator who, if he had his eye on a child of a woman in the church, he’d bed the mother in an attempt to persuade her to turn the child over.
The prophet had six church wives, including the 14-year-old daughter of a church member, not counting his other women on the side, Christie said. When Stan King died he had sired 10 children, she said.
“He was very charming and could get what he wanted and he did it however he had to,” Christie said.
Christie never lived at the former Chatsworth resort, known in the church simply as “the property.” She said Fred King sent her to Guelph, where she would take care of other wives’ children, so they could work in the printing plant. Christie lived in Guelph with her two sons, another woman and her children.
But she returned to the former ski resort on weekends for some 20 years.
Christie went to a lawyer and to the media instead of going to police because their past involvement proved fruitless, she said. This will be the fourth time Christie knows of police involvement with the church.
The first time was when Christie’s father, Howard Dennis, reported his concern for his daughter’s welfare in the church because he hadn’t heard from her. When police arrived she was told to hide. She listened fearfully beneath an open window as Stan King sent the officers on their way, she said.
The next time she knows of was when police visited after Stan King’s death, in 1986. Those brief encounters with police failed to uncover what was happening. In 1996, a young man who left the church told police his story but wasn’t believed, Christie said.
She lives in Owen Sound now, married for three years to former city councillor John Christie. She met him while at her night time cleaning job at a local radio station where he works as an announcer. They’ve written a book about her ordeal, which is due out next April. Any proceeds will be dedicated to her son and the other 35 or so remaining church members to reintegrate into society.
“The people remaining in the church, of course my son, and close friends, I love them. They’re innocent people. And they’re victims. They don’t know what real life is about and they don’t know what happiness is. And I want that for them.”